In the last twenty years the amount of calories and serving sizes that Americans consume has dramatically changed. To better reflect the changing times the FDA has proposed a redesign of its nutrition labels. The FDA has also recalculated servings sizes based on what Americans actually eat, because we all know that serving sizes are more of a suggestion than anything else.

The Servings Per Container line has also been enlarged, as has the methodology used to calculate these servings. 20-ounce bottles of soda would be counted as one single serving, instead of 2.5 smaller servings.

As seen in the comparison above changes to nutrition labels would also include the calorie count of items in a larger, bolder font. With the serving size and servings per container moved to the top of the label the FDA hopes to make nutrition facts easier to read. With the significant increase of obesity and specialty diets over the last twenty years the label redesign would help Americans better understand what exactly they are consuming.

Of course these changes won't happen right away. If the proposal is approved companies would have two years to adhere to the new policy.

H/T The Verge + PicThx The New York Times